Marcin Czubala

Berolina (Russ Gabriel Remix) Marcin Czubala

Mobilee is proud to present “Berolina": the fourth and latest single from Marcin Czubala, it’s also a teaser for his forthcoming album, Chronicles of Never. Backed by a fierce, driving remix from Russ Gabriel, who made his debut mobilee appearance with mobilee 040, it’s a diverse and devastating twotrack package to fit a wide range of hours and moods. In its sense of weightlessness and suspended animation, “Berolina” is the perfect introduction to the world of Marcin’s album. All the signature elements of his work are here: the bumping, slightly haphazard drums, not just electronic pulses but samples clipped from the wider world; the pinprick tones mapping a voluminous nighttime sky; the deep, steady bass; and more than anything else, the sense of slipperiness, of morphing, mutating sounds that never assume one form for more than an instant before taking another shape. “Berolina” is named for Marcin’s first excursions to Berlin, years ago; the title was the name of his customary train and thus, in his words, “my first contact with the city, people, clubs and music.” You can hear that youthful sense of expectation and uncertainty in the music; you have the sense that no matter how many times you’ve taken this particular train, you never quite know where you’re going to end up. Russ Gabriel, one of the masterminds of Detroit techno and the Detroit tradition, pulls no punches in his mix, turning the strange, corkscrewing sequences of the original into a muscular groove marked with bell tones and warm stabs. His drum work, as ever, builds the rhythm with short, sharp attacks and fills, building repetitive intensity bar-by-bar, while filters and soft analog tones stretch out to describe a broad horizon. His approach is self-assured and deeply funky, a commandment that goes to the heart of the dance floor with tenacity and grace.